String of house-destroying arson fires deemed arson

SAN DIEGO – Four homes under construction in the city's northwestern Torrey Highlands neighborhood were destroyed and at least two were damaged in a spate of fires early Friday that authorities called a coordinated arson attack.

"This is clearly an act of domestic terrorism in our city," San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne said in front of one of the charred homes.

Several banners were found at the sites, including one that read: "Development = destruction. Stop raping nature. The ELFs are angry."

The "ELF" may be a reference to the Earth Liberation Front, a loose affiliation of environmentalists that has claimed responsibility for several acts of arson, including a $50 million fire that destroyed a five-story, 206-unit condominium complex under construction in University City last month.

"This is a cowardly act by a group that has no legitimacy," said City Councilman Scott Peters, who district includes both Torrey Highlands and University City. "Someone could have been killed. This is terrorism, not activism."

Some banners recovered Friday referred to the ELF, said San Diego Fire Capt. Jeffrey Carle, but he cautioned that doesn't mean the group was involved. He declined to say how the fires were set but said the method was the same.

No injuries were reported but people were living in homes just a few doors away, and two of the fires were near brush-covered ravines that could have fueled flames, officials said.

Landsowne gave a preliminary damage estimate of $450,000, but the tally will certainly be higher.

SheaHomes estimates it suffered at least $1 million in damages at its 142-unit development of single-family homes in the Torrey Santa Fe area, said Mark Brock, president of the Walnut-based company's San Diego office. SheaHomes, a unit of J.F. Shea Co., has completed about 100 of the homes, half of which were occupied.

SheaHomes was about halfway done with 20 others homes at the complex, called Avalon Point, including three that were destroyed Friday. The homes start at $600,000 apiece.

The first fire, reported at 1:59 a.m., ruined three homes at the SheaHomes complex, and firefighters later discovered a second blaze across the street that damaged one home, Carle said. Shortly before 4 a.m., firefighters looked across a ravine and saw another fire.

The third fire destroyed one home at a 287-unit development of single-family homes by Pardee Construction Co. priced at about $700,000 apiece. The Los Angeles-based company said it had sold about 25 homes at the Bordeaux development, and families have lived there since June.

The fourth fire, at a nearby condominium site, was already extinguished when construction workers discovered it around 7 a.m., Carle said.

The fires were only a few miles north of the Aug. 1 blaze that leveled a 206-unit complex under construction in San Diego. The ELF claimed responsibility for that fire, and a self-proclaimed ELF member told the Los Angeles Times this week that he helped torch a Hummer dealership in West Covina, near Los Angeles, on Aug. 22 and vandalized three other dealerships.

The ELF made no claim of responsibility on its Web site for Friday's fires, and its press office did not respond to an e-mail message.

The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team were investigating.

San Diego will "aggressively" assist in the investigation, Lansdowne said.

"Terrorism has no place in this great country and it will not be allowed in the city of San Diego," Lansdowne said.

SignOnSanDiego
A banner reading: "Development = destruction. Stop raping nature. The ELFs are angry" was left at one of the arson sites in this image taken from video.

SignOnSanDiego
A banner reading: "Development = destruction. Stop raping nature. The ELFs are angry" was left at one of the arson sites in this image taken from video.